NEW ORLEANS — Carson Tinker remembers huddling in a walk-in closet in the house on 25th Street, squeezing his girlfriend, Ashley Harrison, as the rumbling grew louder and the walls began to shake.

She screamed that she was scared. He whispered that everything would be OK.

He doesn’t remember much after that.

The long snapper for No. 2 Alabama was thrown like a ragdoll by the brute force of the EF-4 tornado. He was knocked unconscious when he landed some 50 yards away, his young, strong body torn up by debris twisting and churning at 190 mph.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kentavious Caldwell-Pope came to Georgia with a reputation for being a prolific scorer.

He’s already proving he can take care of things on defense, too.

The freshman scored a career-high 16 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer late in the game, and shut down Notre Dame star Tim Abromaitis while helping Georgia to a 61-57 victory on Tuesday night in the third-place game of the CBE Classic.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Harper Kamp was perfect from the field and finished with 16 points, Jorge Gutierrez added 14 and No. 20 California cruised into the CBE Classic championship game with a 70-46 rout of overmatched Georgia on Monday night.

The Golden Bears (4-0), who have matched their best start under coach Mike Montgomery, will face No. 21 Missouri in a matchup of stellar backcourts in the title game Tuesday night.

Adrian Beltre and Nelson Cruz hit back-to-back homers Thursday night, and Texas was poised to win its first World Series when Josh Hamilton hit a two-run shot in the 10th inning. But the Cardinals answered the call each time, and David Freese’s leadoff homer in the 11th gave St. Louis a stunning 10-9 victory and forced a deciding Game 7.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Jimmie Johnson didn’t qualify where he wanted, and his car never quite cooperated during the final practice session at Kansas Speedway. So he spent Saturday evening in the garage area, going over different setups with the rest of his team.

That dedication, that attention to detail, is a big reason he’s chasing his sixth straight Cup title.